Market reviewn The 2016 Execution Management System Survey

The lack of concernaround FIX is reinforced bythe fact that this area rankedas the least important whenclients were asked to nametheir key priorities in consid-ering use of any particularEMS. Figure 3 shows how anumber of different aspectsof service were considered interms of priority. The singlemost important component,mentioned in their top fourby almost half of respond-Capabilities. Insofar as trad-ing systems are integral tothe very act of trading, andEMS success has been builtentirely around FIX stand-ards, these scores should notbe a surprise. While onerespondent did suggest thatadditional back-up might beneeded by some providers,no-one mentioned anyaspect of FIX capabilities ofany providers that requiredenhancement orimprovement.

portfolio management.

Meanwhile the sheer number
of clients and accounts
makes the upgrade process
progressively more complex.

This is a simple problem of
growth and perhaps reflects
a contrast with earlier periods, when updating was a
more straightforward exercise and therefore could be
completed more frequently
and with less potential disruption. The best scores were
seen in Reliability and FIX

It is clear that the days of implementing a system and leaving it tothe trader and broker to sort out how to use it are long gone.2014 2015 2016